The Heart Foundation has discovered two-thirds of people who need annual heart check-ups have not done so in the past two years as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on normal life.
In Heart Week 2022, the foundation’s interim CEO, Professor Garry Jennings, said the discovery showed a pressing need for people to get their hearts checked by a GP to prevent a spike in heart-related deaths and hospitalisations.
“There has never been a more important time for Australians to come together and focus on heart health,” Professor Jennings said. “Heart disease is still Australia’s leading cause of death – we already lose more than 18,000 lives to it each year.
“Knowing that people have deferred their heart health during the pandemic despite having significant risk factors is something we find very concerning.
“This, coupled with growing evidence from studies overseas that COVID-19 can further increase the risk of heart disease among those infected means heart disease could be silently and unknowingly progressing in a large number of people.
“This Heart Week, our message is clear: we need Australians aged 45-74 (or aged 30-74 if First Nations) to take immediate action and please book a Heart Health Check with your GP today.”
A Heart Health Check is a 20-minute appointment where a GP and nurse will assess a person’s risk factors for developing heart disease and work with them to create a plan to lower this risk immediately. Blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels will be routinely assessed as part of the check.
